Achievements and Challenges

Prepared By HKONJ Partner Democracy North Carolina.

North Carolinians voted in record numbers in 2008 and showed how the ballot can help change our state and the U.S. “By the power of the vote,” said Dr. King, “we will transform” society." Remember these facts:   

More than 1 million African Americans voted in 2008 in N.C. and that made a big difference in who won.

A higher percent of Blacks voted than Whites – a first in 110 years, since the Jim Crow-era of violence and disenfranchisement began. N.C.’s new law allowing Same-Day Registration at Early Voting sites helped 188,000 vote who might be excluded – most were youth or people of color.

Even with the big turnout in 2008, almost 1 out of 3 adult citizens in N.C. (of all races) did not vote.

Every vote matters. For example, if just 5 voters for Barack Obama in each precinct had not voted, he would have lost in N.C.

Many towns have elections in 2009 for local officials – are you ready to make a difference in who wins?

“In the future, we must become intensive political activists.” -- Martin Luther King Jr.